Mayo candidate pushes for enhanced online safety measures

A first-time Mayo local election candidate advocated for enhanced online safety measures at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis.

Keira Keogh's motion addressed the growing concerns surrounding fraud, identity theft, misinformation, bullying, and trolling rampant on online social media platforms.

During the Ard Fheis, Ms. Keogh emphasised the need for greater accountability online.

To highlight her point she read aloud directly to Justice Minister Helen McEntee some of the mean comments directed at the deputy in response to a recent tweet.

The profile names and faces are unidentifiable, ensuring their composers are devoid of accountability.

The Westport candidate's motion called for strategies to incentivise social media platforms to implement robust identity verification measures.

She drew parallels to online banking app Revolut and Paddy Power betting, which have successful identity verification practices. She even mentioned online dating platforms like Bumble and Tinder where, although they do not require government ID for verification, there is photo verification which goes some way towards preventing identity fraud.

“We need to protect our vulnerable from cyberbullying, prevent crime by reducing scammers, hackers, and identity thieves, and safeguard democracy from misinformation,” she said.

Minister McEntee welcomed the motion and mentioned Fine Gael’s commitment to promoting online safety. She spoke of the recently established Coimisiún na Meán and the need to arm them with legislation and resources to combat digital threats.

Ms. Keogh urged both Fine Gael and social media platform users to pressure companies to adopt additional practices, including identity verification, to mitigate online risks effectively.

“Legislation won't happen overnight, but demand and pressure from Fine Gael and platform users will drive this change.”